Accessory for garment steaming devices



Aug. 4, 1964 s-. JACOBSON 3,142,915

ACCESSORY FOR GARMENT STEAMING DEVICES Filed March 1, 1962 SIDNEYIACOBSQN K lauea/o: KENDRICK & STOLZY United States Patent 3,142,916ACCESSORY FOR GARMENT STEAMING DEVICES Sidney Jacobson, 14211 Dickens,Apt. 10, Sherman Oaks, Calif. Filed Mar. 1, 1962, Ser. No. 176,651 3Claims. (CI. 38-97) This invention relates to garment steaming devices,and more particularly to an accessory for a steam iron, a steam pressingmachine and a spotting board or other like device.

Although the present invention may have a great many applications and isnot to be limited to those specifically enumerated herein, the inventionhas been found especially useful when employed as an accessory or shoefor a steam iron.

In the past, an unbonded perforated sheet of tetrafluoroethylene, soldunder the trade name of Teflon, has been employed with steam pressingdevices to prevent fabrics from being seared by the application of heatthereto from a hot metal or other surface of a high specific heat andthermal conductivity. For example, a steam iron shoe employing such asheet is disclosed in an issued US. Patent No. 2,876,565.

Notwithstanding the utility of garment steaming accessories made ofTeflon to prevent garments from being seared, the relatively high costof this material makes it desirable to extend the useful life of suchaccessories and to reduce cost of manufacture thereof.

One physical property of Teflon which shortens its useful life is thatit wrinkles with age and use. This wrinkling, in combination with thehigh flexure to which it is subjected by its use when it is wrinkled,causes unbonded Teflon sheet material to crack and break. This propertyis separate and distinct from the stretching and shrinkage problemsolved by the device of the said issued patent.

In the manufacture of perforated Teflon sheet material such asillustrated at 16 in the said issued patent, it is often necessary tomake the unbonded sheet U-shaped in cross section such as shown in FIG.4 of the patent. This curvature is required in order to fit in sheetretaining means or around a garment steaming or steam pressing device.

Unbonded Teflon sheet with a U-shaped cross section can be formed onlyby the application of heat and under pressure. Both of these formingconditions of pressure and temperature cause Teflon to becomeundesirably soft and pliable. For this reason, the added cost of afurther heat treatment is required after unbonded Teflon sheet materialis so formed. That is, it is necessary to heat a formed sheet to anelevated temperature for a substantial period of time.

In accordance with the present invention, the abovedescribed and otherdisadvantages of the prior art are overcome by providing an accessoryfor a garment steaming device including a perforated plate and a layerof polymerized tetrafluoroethylene bonded to the plate. Thus, by bondingTeflon to a perforated steel or aluminum plate by spray coating orotherwise, the Teflon coating in adhering to the metal will not wrinkle.This type of application also need not be heat treated as has beenrequired in the past with Teflon sheet material. Hence, withoutwrinkling, the accessory of the present invention will have a longeruseful life and without the requirement of the heat treatment may bemade at less cost than Teflon garment steaming accessories of the priorart.

In addition to the foregoing, it will be recognized that the presentinvention has other advantages. In particular, in perforated metalplates of the prior art employed in steaming garments, it is known thatthe dye from one 3,142,916 Patented Aug. 4, 1964 fabric will fillperforations in such plates and will be retained therein by capillaryaction. Dyes from one garment may thus be transferred to another of adifferent color when dyes retained in the said perforations are expelledtherefrom by a preponderance of steam pressure behind the dyes in theperforations.

In accordance with the present invention, by coating the interiorsurface of the perforations in a sheet metal plate, it has been foundthat capillary action will hold very little, if any, liquid due atleast, in part, to the nonwetting property of Teflon.

In addition to the foregoing, note will be taken that mineral depositson, or rust of a perforated steel plate are not deposited on garments inaccordance with the present invention, since the metal of the perforatedplate is coated to prevent rust and mineral deposits from formingthereon. In this regard, it is to be noted that the non-wetting propertyof Teflon aids in this function. Perforated aluminum plates likewiseoxidize to some extent and attract mineral deposits. Hence, a Tefloncoating onto aluminum would likewise perform the aforementionedbeneficial functions of preventing oxidation and preventing theattraction of mineral deposits. Note will be taken in the case of eitherTeflon coated steel or Teflon coated aluminum, any oxidation of eithermetal or the accumulation of any mineral deposits on either bare steelor bare aluminum is especially undesirable since stains on garmentstreated with such garment steaming accessories can easily result, inthat such metal oxides and such mineral deposits can be easily depositedon such garments by a preponderance of steam pressure and by the steamotherwise carrying such oxides and deposits through plate perforationsonto garments.

The above described and other advantages of the present invention willbe better understood from the following description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, which are to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a steam iron shoe made in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of the steam iron shoeshown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure shownin FIG. 2.

In general, the steam iron shoe shown in the drawing may be of a shapesimilar to that shown at 16 in the aforementioned patent. The shoe maycomprise a single piece of sheet metal plate 10 which has been formed bybending up flanges 11, 12 and 13 to form a shoe generally of the shapeas shown in FIG. 1 of the said patent. All portions of plate 10 areperforated as at 14.

Plate 10 is provided with a pair of ears at 15 and 16. A helicallycoiled spring 17 is connected between ears 15 and 16 to hold plate 10substantially in a fixed position contiguous to the sole plate of asteam iron.

The bottom and exterior surfaces of plate 10, including flanges 11, 12and 13, are coated with Teflon by spraying the same thereon in aconventional manner. Note will be taken that Teflon 18, shown in bothFIGS. 2 and 3, covers not only the bottom surface of plate 10, but alsothe interior surfaces of perforations 14.

Although the coating of the top surface of plate 10 is not shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, the same might be provided with added beneficial effectsto be anticipated.

In accordance with the foregoing, it will be appreciated that whetherplate 10 be made of steel or aluminum or other high strength material,the bonding of Teflon 18 thereto by spray coating or otherwise willprevent Teflon 18 from wrinkling due to the adherence to the entirebottom surface of plate 10 and the other external surfaces of flanges11, 12 and 13. The useful life of the device of the present invention isthereby substantially extended by preventing the wrinkling action ofunbonded Teflon sheet material employed in accessories for garmentsteaming devices.

Still further, heat treatment required in accordance with prior artunbonded Teflon sheet forming and manu facturing processes is obviatedin accordance with the present invention and the cost of garmentsteaming accessory manufacturing thereby reduced.

Coating of plate 10 by Teflon 18 prevents oxidation of plate 10 when thesame is made of .steel, aluminum or any other metal. Still further,mineral deposits which would ordinarily tend to collect on the metalparts of plate 10 and, especially in the interior of perforations 14,are not so located due to the coating of Teflon 18 on the internalsurfaces of perforations 14. Thus, metal oxides and other mineraldeposits are not transferred to garments being steamed by the use of thedevice of the present invention.

In addition to the foregoing, by the use of Teflon 18 on the internalsurfaces of perforations 14, capillary action of dyes tending to collectin perforations 14 is prevented due to the low friction and non-Wettingcharacter of Teflon 18.

Note will be taken that perforations exist both in plate 10 and Teflon18 and that the perforations in Teflon 18 are in alignment with those inplate 1% Although many changes and modifications of the presentinvention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, theinvention of course is not to be limited to the specific embodiments setforth hereinbefore. The embodiments selected for this disclosure havebeen for illustrative purposes only, the true scope of the inventionbeing defined only in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An accessory for a garment steaming device, said accessorycomprising: a perforated plate; a layer of polymerizedtetrafluoroethylene bonded to said plate; and means to hold said platein a substantially fixed position on said device, said plate having astrength substantially greater than that of said polymer, said polymerbeing bonded to the interior surfaces of said perforations.

2. An accessory for a garment steaming device, said accessorycomprising: a perforated plate; and a layer of polymerizedtetrafluoroethylene bonded to one side of said plate, said polymer alsobeing bonded to the interior surfaces of the perforations in said plate.

3. An accessory for a garment steaming device, said accessorycomprising: a laminated body having a lower layer of polymerizedtetrafluoroethylene and an upper layer of a material different from thatof said lower layer, said upper layer having an approximately flatsurface, said lower layer being bonded to said upper layer surface overthe entire area thereof, said body having a plurality of perforationsextending therethrough, each of said perforations extending completelythrough both of said layers, each perforation in said lower layer beingin alignment with each perforation in said upper layer, said lower layerbeing bonded to said upper layer surface at every point around theperipheral edge of each of the holes in said upper layer.

References,Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,637,125 Roberts May 5, 1953 2,876,565 Jacobson Mar. 10, 1959 2,878,659France et al. Mar. 24, 1959 2,944,917 Cahne July 12, 1960 3,008,601Cahne Nov. 14, 1961

1. AN ACCESSORY FOR A GARMENT STEAMING DEVICE, SAID ACCESSORYCOMPRISING: A PERFORATED PLATE; A LAYER OF POLYMERIZEDTETRAFLUOROETHYLENE BONDED TO SAID PLATE; AND MEANS TO HOLD SAID PLATEIN A SUBSTANTIALLY FIXED POSITION ON SAID DEVICE, SAID PLATE HAVING ASTRENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THAT OF SAID POLYMER, SAID POLYMERBEING BONDED TO THE INTERIOR SURFACES OF SAID PERFORATIONS.